Western redcedar (Thuja plicata)
Gitxsan name: simgan (meaning the "real spirit
tree")
Wet'suwet'en name: het'al
Botanical Description
- British Columbia's provincial tree
- large tree up to 50 metres tall with branches that tend to droop slightly
and then upturn, flattened
- bark is gray to reddish brown
- aromatic wood
- glossy yellowish green scale-like leaves
Photo courtesy of Ruth Cooper (49kB)
Ethnobotanical Use
The wood of the western redcedar was used for totempoles, longhouses,
canoes as well as wedges and spear handles. It is easy to split and so it was often used
for bent-wood boxes. The inner bark was used for slow matches to carry the fire from camp
to camp, and also as mats, and baskets.
This digital collection was produced under contract to the SchoolNet
Digital Collection Program, Industry Canada.
Revised: 08/21/98
